Make it clear that Katie's name is Kathryn Angelina (not Katherine Angela) and Leo's name is Leonardo, Leonard
A/N: Here's the last chapter! And, wow, just wow. This is my 3rd chapter in 2 days, I guess you could say that my intense writer's block is cured. Anyway, the book that Jackie reads to the twins from is called LoveYouForever,by Robert Munsch. Just letting you know, I love that book and I want to read it to my children some day, which is why I put it in here. It also shows how Jackie and Hyde feel about everything that's going on. Oh, and, as always, there's going to be a sequel to this story! But I need to concentrate on other things first, so that story may take a month or so to post.Point Place, Wisconsin
November 28th, 1986
2:46 PM
Location: Point Place Hospital, Room 416
When I held Charlotte for the first time after she was born, something changed inside of me. I don't know what, but I think something inside of me told myself that someday I'd feel the same way as I did holding her, except it would be with my own child. And now that the day was finally here, I could not wait to hold the two tiny babies in my arms, make them feel as warm and secure as possible.
"Steven," Jackie whispered as she lay on the bed. She looked beautiful, her face glowed, her hair fell just right, and her smile was radiant. That was what she looked like to me, even more gorgeous now that she had given birth than on the day we got married. "Look." Jackie pulled back the hospital blanket to reveal the pinkish face of the baby—our son—in her arms.
"Steven," Dr. Armstrong called me from across the room. "Would you like to hold your daughter?"
My heart jumped at the thought, the idea of holding my child for the first time was something, like I said before, that I was looking forward to most during Jackie's pregnancy, but I shook my head. "Nah, let Jackie hold them both first."
"But Steven," she protested. "I already have one of them."
"Now you'll have both," I fought back.
Jackie shifted our son farther into the crook of her left arm, holding out her right and letting Dr. Armstrong place the other baby in her other arm. "Wow," she exclaimed.
I brushed back one of the curls on Jackie's face, kissing her forehead and then each of our children's foreheads. "See, holding them isn't that bad."
Jackie raised her full arms up a bit. "Then why don't you do it?"
Well. I couldn't fight her there. Gently, I reached down and collected our daughter into my arms. She was lighter than I thought she would be, even though I was told she weighed 6 pounds and 7 ounces. Our son, on the other hand, was 7 pounds and 6 ounces, the exact opposite. I rubbed my thumb against the blanket, a soothing technique Eric had showed me. I watched as her eyelids fluttered against her face and then opened, revealing piercing green eyes that will always stay in my mind. And I swear I saw her smile at me… her dad.
Our family and friends started slowly filing into the room—no, I was wrong about that. They were all our family. Red and Kitty were the best parents we could have and Eric, Donna, Kelso, and Fez were like our siblings. Well, mine anyway. Jackie refused to all them that because they were all so much more than siblings… well, and the fact that she dated Fez and Kelso. Brooke was more like a confidant. June, Fez's wife, who we'd all come to acknowledge as a family member ("more like a distant cousin that we can do it with" Kelso had said). Betsy, Charlotte, and Luke would grow up with the twins, just like me, Jackie, and our friends had so many years before. They were all there—even Leo who was, strangely, like another father to me.
Kitty squealed. "Sorry, I couldn't contain myself any longer! I just had to see my new grandchildren!"
"Hey, that's a baby, man," Leo pointed to the girl who rested in my arms. I moved aside from the side of the bed so everyone could see Jackie and Leo gasped. "Whoa, there's another one!"
"Yeah," I said. "They're our babies."
"Steven," Jackie whined. "We can't keep calling them 'the babies'."
"What are you going to name them? Don't keep us waiting any longer!" Fez told me.
I took a seat on the edge of Jackie's bed and looked to Jackie who gave me a confirming nod. "We each got to pick one first name and one middle name for the kids. So I chose Angelina after my sister and Leo after, well, Leo."
"But I refused to name a kid Leonard," Jackie interjected. "So we…" I shot her a look and she sighed. "Idecided on Leonardo."
"What are the other two?" Donna prompted. "Come on already."
"I chose Kathryn after you, Mrs. Forman," Jackie smiled in her direction. "And Reginald after you," she nodded towards Red.
"You named the baby after me?" asked Red in amazement. He didn't show it, but I think he was proud that he had a grandchild name after me.
"Who cares?" Kitty jumped up and down in excitement. "They named the baby after me!"
"So," I started. "We ended up with Kathryn Angelina and Leonardo Reginald."
"Aww!" Kitty squeezed and rushed to pull Jackie, me, and little Katie and Leo into a hug. "Can I call her Kit-Kat?"
"How come we don't get kids named after us?" Kelso yelled, breaking off Kitty's words and stepping up from the back of the crowd. "I mean, I slept with you!"
"Michael!" Jackie and Brooke scorned simultaneously.
"Dummy's right," Leo said. "I don't see you guys naming your kids Leo."
Dr. Armstrong reappeared, a camera in his hand. "Hey, mind if I take a family picture for the board?"
And that's how our babies (I'm sorry, Katieand Leo's)first minutes of existence came to be. It was just a preview for the future, though, because family was something they would never be able to get rid of. I hope they never could.
~~~ . . . ~~~
6:34 PM
I sighed, staring out the window. It really didn't feel like I'd just given birth to twins four hours before. The babies were curled up in their tiny hospital cribs next to me, sleeping like the beautiful little angels they were (Katie even had "angel" as part of her middle name). After eating Thanksgiving dinner at the Formans, everyone returned with a mini feast for me and Steven to indulge on. Red had given me a gift, Eric's old cradle that he'd once expected to give to a third child that never existed in the first place. I'd been warned, though ("Don't tell the dumbass you have it!" I'd been told).
I'd spent most of the night watching the babies sleeping and talking about their futures with Steven. We couldn't agree on which one would go to Harvard Law and which one would go to medical school, but we did know that once they left the hospital they'd go straight to the Formans. It was a tradition in our strange family for all of the babies to go there first, and everyone liked it that way.
Both of the babies started to cry and I went to go get them, but Steven stopped me. "You need your rest," he'd told me.
By now, he had mastered the art of carrying both twins at once, and he was going to have to keep the skill if we wanted to keep up with our kids. He returned back to me and set Leo in my arms.
"Steven," I started, rocking Leo back and forth. "Could you get the book I stuffed in my bag?"
"Yes, your highness," he joked, reaching under the bed and pulling out a pale blue, paperback book and handing it to me.
"Come here," I ordered, moving to the side and patting the empty space next to m.
"Sheesh," Steven said, but still following my orders. "You're just full of commands today, aren't you?"
I stared at him, into the eyes that were forever engraved into my mind, and vise versa. Steven leaned down to kiss me, one that lingered on my lips for long after and made me fall dizzy for a moment.
I smiled and flipped the book open, clearing my throat to read it aloud.
Amotherheldhernewbabyandveryslowlyrockedhimbackandforth,backandforth,backandforth.Andwhilesheheldhim,shesang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be. .